The Top Three Pros and Cons of Using AI to Write Your Wedding Speech or Vows

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Artificial intelligence is undeniably weaving its way into many aspects of our lives, from managing our daily schedules to tackling work projects, and now even the intimate task of writing wedding speeches and vows. While AI offers some intriguing possibilities, it's crucial to weigh the advantages against the disadvantages before entrusting such a significant occasion to a digital platform like Google Gemini, Chat GPT, or Copilot.

Why Listen to Me?

Before we delve into the specifics of these pros and cons, allow me to introduce myself and explain why my perspective on this topic carries weight.

Hi, I'm Amanda Allard (PhD), the founder and owner of Wedded Words: Wedding Speech Consulting. With a doctorate in communication research, over a decade of public speaking experience, and a track record of helping thousands of individuals refine their writing and speaking skills, I've dedicated my career to empowering people to communicate authentically and effectively, especially during pivotal life moments like a wedding.

You might get a sense of my work from this AI-generated image below. It often depicts me with the essentials for those late nights spent collaborating with clients or building my business: a comforting cup of coffee, a reliable microphone for speech practice, and a vow booklet representing the heartfelt promises I help couples craft.

While this AI rendition captures a few key elements of my professional life, it misses the countless hours of dedicated effort that went into even creating this digital representation. Despite the time invested in prompting and refining, the final image still wasn't a perfect reflection of my vision. Ultimately, I had to accept a version that was "good enough."

Interestingly, the trade-offs involved in creating this image mirror the very pros and cons we'll explore when considering AI for your wedding vows or speech. Let's dive in.

AI generated image of the owner of Wedded Words, Amanda Allard (PhD)

Pros of Using AI to Write Wedding Speeches or Vows

AI undeniably offers some compelling advantages, particularly when it comes to the initial stages of writing a wedding speech or vows. Here are just a few:

Kicking Writer's Block to the Curb: The dreaded blank page can be paralyzing. I've worked with countless clients who struggle just to get their thoughts flowing – it's why our online wedding speech courses dedicate an entire section to effective brainstorming techniques. AI can be a useful tool to jumpstart this process, offering a starting point when inspiration feels absent.However, the assistance doesn't necessarily end there.

Potential for Refinement: Depending on your specific instructions and the AI platform you're using, this technology can potentially help "clean up" or refine your initial drafts. For example, you may need to quickly condense 5 pages of content down into a 2-3 minute speech an hour before the wedding. AI can help with this and will always come in clutch!

Not only can AI refine your speech it can help with something I find many people forget to do

with their wedding speeches or vows…edit them. 

Grammar and Mechanics Check: You've poured your heart into writing your wedding speech or vows, capturing all the emotion and excitement you want to share. But before you present them publicly, a thorough review is essential. Many people forget this crucial editing stage and then stumble over grammatical errors, awkward sentence structures, or missing transitions. AI can quickly scan your text and identify potential grammatical issues, offering a superficial layer of polish.

Cons of Using AI to Write Wedding Speeches or Vows

Despite these apparent benefits, there are significant drawbacks to relying on AI for such a personal and meaningful task. Here are three key cons I've observed in the realm of speech writing:

The Time Investment Might Surprise You: How do you effectively convey the depth of a 10+ year relationship with the bride or groom to an AI platform? How do you ensure it understands the nuances and inside jokes of the past three years of dating? To achieve even a semblance of personalization, you still need to invest considerable time brainstorming your thoughts and then meticulously feeding that information to the AI. 

What I've often seen is that the time spent inputting details and then refining the AI-generated content can easily equal, if not exceed, the time it would take to simply write the speech yourself.

And even after this time investment, something invaluable can be lost: your authentic voice.

The Risk of Losing Your Authentic Voice: What I mean by "loss of voice" is that AI-generated

content often lacks the unique cadence, tone, and personal expressions that make your communication distinctly yours. While you can ask AI to write a best man speech, the result is likely to be generic, impersonal, and sound nothing like you. Interestingly, research is increasingly showing that people can discern when something has been written by AI versus a human.

This lack of personal touch can lead to the final, and perhaps most significant, con, an impact on your relationship.

Potential Relationship Consequences: My husband and I have been together for 5 years and have known each other for almost 15. It would have deeply saddened me if he hadn't personally crafted his vows and instead relied on AI to articulate his promises. The same holds true for the heartfelt speeches delivered by our closest friends and family. Discovering, or even suspecting, that an AI wrote their speech would have made me question the true depth of our connection and whether they genuinely invested the time and care that our wedding day deserved. These concerns, and others, can create distance and impact relationships if AI is used to generate wedding speeches or vows.

Should You Use AI to Write Your Wedding Speech?

When someone asks me if they should use AI for their wedding speech, I often respond with a question: "Could you effectively use a calculator if you didn't understand basic math functions?" The answer, of course, is no. Similarly, many individuals lack a fundamental understanding of effective speech structure. Consequently, when they turn to AI, they often accept the output without recognizing its shortcomings or how to tailor it effectively. This can lead to frustration and a final product that still doesn't quite hit the mark.

Don't risk sacrificing your time and potentially impacting your relationships by over-relying on AI. Instead, invest in learning the fundamental principles of crafting and delivering a meaningful and authentic wedding speech.

At Wedded Words, our online wedding speech courses provide you with the tools and guidance you need to write and confidently deliver a speech or set of vows that truly reflects your unique voice, memories, and emotions. To learn more about how our online speech course can help you please click the button below.

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